DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings forward Kris Draper was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday morning, skating, joking and smiling.

Draper then joined them on the ice for the pregame warmups prior to their 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

His return to the lineup isn't imminent -- he hasn't put a time frame on it. But it boosted his spirits just to be able to practice with the team for the first time since having surgery for a sports hernia on Oct. 21.

Draper pulled his groin on Sept. 18, the first day of training camp.

“No secret, it’s been tough,” Draper said. “No chance did I think I was going to be going through this at this point, but injuries are part of it. To go out there and skate with my teammates and be around was good.

“This (six-game) homestand has benefited me, just being able to be around the guys, practice with them, every day get a little bit closer to playing.”

Draper skated for more than an hour, taking the ice well before his teammates started their 20-minute gameday practice.

“Just taking it easy,” Draper said. “First couple of strides is something I’m being smart about right now. Kind of crossing over and pivoting, and once I got going I felt pretty good. Hopefully every day get to do a little more.”

Draper said it was good to “just be out there with the guys, passing the puck, getting passes back, shooting in stride, stuff that is tough to do on your own.”

Danny Cleary said Draper brings a lot of enthusiasm to practices and the dressing room.

“Just having him around, he’s in good spirits,” Cleary said. “You work so hard, it’s tough to get hurt the first (practice) in training camp.”

Draper said he has a long way to go to regain strength and conditioning. He did not want to set a target date for his return.

“Drapes is a huge part of our team, the culture of our team,” coach Mike Babcock said. “We challenged him and guys like Malts (Kirk Maltby) over the years to make sure they had it passed on so guys like Helmer and Abby (Justin Abdelkader) are going to do the same thing as far as working hard and being professional, setting the tone of enthusiasm and work ethic.

“That’s a big part of being successful year in and year out ... and Draper’s been a model in that area, with (Nicklas) Lidstrom and (Pavel) Datsyuk and (Henrik) Zetterberg and obviously Stevie (Yzerman) and Cheli (Chris Chelios) and those guys before.”﻿